Beer festival returns to Breckenridge Saturday

<b>Special to the Daily</b>Kicking off at 1 p.m. Saturday, the Breck July Beer Festival will feature beer tastings from 25 craft brewers, including Breckenridge Brewery, Crazy Mountain Brewery, Sam Adams, Ska Brewing, Twisted Pine Brewing and Widmer Brothers, to name a few

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The beer will be flowing and the music playing all day on Saturday at the Breckenridge July Beer Festival. The festival is taking over Main Street Station Plaza to bring brews, views and free live music to beer aficionados and music lovers alike.

Kicking off at 1 p.m. Saturday, the July Beer Festival will feature beer tastings from 25 craft brewers, including Breckenridge Brewery, Crazy Mountain Brewery, Sam Adams, Ska Brewing, Twisted Pine Brewing and Widmer Brothers, to name a few. Each brewer will have 2-4 of their craft beverages on hand.

For a bottomless five-ounce tasting cup, it's $25 in advance or $30 at the gate. The VIP package starts at $65 when purchased in advance, and goes up to $75 at the gate. VIP treatment includes a commemorative glass stein, private beer tasting in the VIP room on the first floor of Grand Central Station in Main Street Station, and a catered lunch. VIPs who have purchased their mugs in advance will also get to enter the festival through a separate line. The deadline for advanced purchasing is today at noon. Mugs and packages can be purchased at www.breckenridgebeerfestival.com.

In addition to the beer tastings, the festival will host multiple live music acts throughout the day. At 1 p.m., solo artist Kyle James Hauser will kick off the event on the Summit Stage stage. Hauser is a Denver singer-songwriter who can "make a banjo sing," according to reviews of his newest album. The bluegrass performer has shared the stage with Brett Dennen, G Love and the Special Sauce and Gregory Alan Iskanov.

At 2:30 p.m., the music continues with another Denver native, Rob Drabkin. Drabkin's "soulful roots rock" has graced the Red Rocks Amphitheatre stage and the Mile High Festival. Westword Magazine also named him Colorado Singer-Songwriter of the year in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

To finish off the day, headliner Muskateer Gripweed will take the stage at 4:30 p.m. Gripweed is "rambling, rolling, grooving, good times music," according to the band's website. Their songs "roll like the hills of the Midwest, they groove and climb like the Rocky Mountains where they are created, and they ramble like Ole Miss herself."

The festival ends at 6 p.m. Saturday evening, but Breckenridge guests can continue their stay in Summit County with discounted lodging rates from ResortQuest for the weekend. ResortQuest lodging starts at $127 per night through their website www.ResortQuestBreckenridge.com or by phone at (800) 507-8643. Some restrictions may apply to lodging. Even more discounted unlimited tasting and VIP mugs are available with lodging.